1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover's Life List (43 page)

Where:
In Turin
, Caffè al Bicerin, tel 39/011-436-9325,
bicerin.it/eng
;
in New York and Chicago
, Eataly,
eataly.com
.
Further information and recipe:
newyorktimes.com
(search bicerin recipe).

Americans may be the world’s most famous devourers of steak, but the Tuscans, too, deserve some credit for their fervor—as well as for the perfection of their great specialty,
bistecca alla fiorentina.
A large and lovely slab of the cut Americans call porterhouse, it is the pride of Florence, and of all Italy as well.

Its preparation is simple enough, but leaves no room for carelessness. The slightly aged meat is brushed with olive oil via a branch of rosemary. Sprinkled with salt, pepper, and sometimes fresh lemon juice, it is then grilled over wood charcoal that lends an aromatic autumnal patina to the meat. That’s it as far as cooking goes —so the steak must truly speak for itself.

Thankfully it does not disappoint. Florentine steaks come from Chianina, the local white-coated grass-fed cattle, which are leaner than their typical American counterparts; their careful feeding results in just enough fat to impart a lusciously rich and tender beefiness to the steak. Believed to be one of the oldest breeds in the
world, Chianina originated in Val di Chiana, in Tuscany’s Maremma district, a region famous for its Italian-style cowboys.

Preferred blood-rare by the cognoscenti, the big, thick slabs of bistecca are served family style, with knives that allow hungry diners to do the portioning themselves. Fried potatoes are optional, but a must is a good spongy bread to absorb the pungent drippings that collect on plate and platter, not to mention glasses of one of Tuscany’s big red wines.

Although the import of Chianina beef is prohibited in the United States, some Chianina cattle are domestically raised for a few very upscale restaurants; you’ll also find many restaurants serving prime American beef in the style of Florence’s bistecca.

Where:
In Florence
, Sostanza, tel 39/055-212691;
in Chianti
, Officina della Bistecca, tel 39/055-852176,
dariocecchini.com
;
in New York
, Costata, tel 212-334-3320,
costatanyc.com
;
in Boston
, Toscano, tel 617-723-4090,
toscanoboston.com
.
Further information and recipes:
American Chianina Association,
chicattle.org
;
The Food of Italy
by Waverley Root (1992);
Giuliano Bugialli’s Foods of Italy
by Giuliano Bugialli (1984);
foodnetwork.com
(search bistecca alla fiorentina).

Beneath its unremarkable rind, the Sicilian blood orange—
arancia rossa
—exposes a crimson flesh that is equally awesome for its visual drama and for its tart, sweet, and pungent flavor. Blood oranges grow in Spain, throughout the Mediterranean, and in California, but the lustiest fruits are the product of southern Italy’s balmy climate. The winter’s warm days and cool nights foster its particular anthocyanins—the pigments responsible for the fruit’s bright reddish-blue coloring—and the summer heat develops its sweetness.

Sicilian farmers weren’t trying for an exotic fruit. Sometime after the 1400s, they reported that the fruits began developing in the groves on their own, the unplanned offspring of blond sour oranges and sweet oranges. Today, the flushed fruit makes up a huge portion of Italy’s citrus production, and its point of origin and quality are protected by the European Union’s venerable Indicazione Geografica Protetta (I.G.P.) regulations. When it comes to flavor, the torocco variety, grown between January and May, is hailed as the sweetest. Aesthetically, the moro, ripe between December and February, is favored for its striking reddish rind and rich interior hues, which produce beautiful juices and sorbets.

Care should be taken when handling the fruits, as their juice tends to stain. The extra bit of caution is more than worthwhile when you consider all the sublime sorbets, granitas, and ice creams in store.

Mail order:
Melissa’s Produce, tel 800-588-0151,
melissas.com
.
Further information and recipes:
The Perfect Scoop
by David Lebovitz (2011);
bloodorange.com
.
Tip:
Ciao Bella makes an intense and delicious Sicilian Blood Orange Sorbet,
ciaobella.com
.

The dried, pressed, and salted roe that is also known as poor man’s caviar,
bottarga
is an addictively salty, gently chewy fish-egg specialty usually harvested from tuna or mullet. With a hue that mimics a rosy Mediterranean sunset, it is especially prized in southern Italy, including Sicily and Sardinia.

A product of sun, sea, and air, bottarga begins with the gentle massaging of the pouch of roe, which compresses the pouch’s contents while reducing air pockets. Then it is time for a spot of alfresco air-drying, before two to three weeks of curing in salt. Thus handled, the roe firms up into a dry, hard slab, often a burnished red-orange-gold color, with the exact hue depending on the type of fish.

At its best, bottarga has a very intense fishy flavor that packs a serious savory punch.
Bottarga di muggine
, from the mullet, is more amber in hue and more subtle in flavor;
bottarga di tonno
, from the tuna, is both redder and more assertive. Usually thinly sliced or grated, most often over pasta—
spaghetti alla bottarga
being a specialty of Sardinian cuisine—the roe is equally delicious atop scrambled eggs or crème fraîche–dolloped canapés, in salads (as in a Caesar, taking the place of anchovies), or sliced atop ripe tomatoes as they prefer it in Sicily. Despite its nickname, bottarga fetches relatively high prices in upscale Italian food shops.

Where:
In Florence
, for
spaghetti alla bottarga
, Trattoria Cammillo, tel 39/055-212-427;
in New York
, Sandro’s, tel 212-288-7374,
sandrosnyc.com
.
Retail and mail order:
In New York and Chicago
, Eataly,
eataly.com
.
Further information and recipes:
The Young Man and the Sea: Recipes and Crispy Fish Tales from Esca
by David Pasternack (2007);
Molto Italiano
by Mario Batali (2005);
foodnetwork.com
(search batali spaghetti alla bottarga);
bottargaclub.com
(click Bottarga Recipes).

Red wine complements brasato with mushrooms.

Slowly, slowly simmered with aromatic vegetables and herbs, the braised meats broadly known as pot roasts are as satisfying to prepare as they are to eat. For the cook, there is the satisfaction of transforming large, relatively tough cuts into melting tenderness while filling the home with comforting, mouthwatering aromas that ripen and change over the course of the braising. For the diner, these dishes offer nurturing
tenderness and heady gravies that soak into soul-soothing carbs such as boiled potatoes, rice, polenta, silky fresh egg noodles, or airy dumplings.

In this homey and fragrant realm, Italy has two wonderful specialties well worth preparing and eating.
Brasato al Barolo
is much loved in Piedmont, where the region’s deeply red and complex Barolo wine is the basis of the marinade. Larded with strips of pork fat, a meaty rump of beef is given a six-to twelve-hour bath in wine flavored with carrots, onions, and aromatic herbs such as thyme, rosemary, sage, and parsley. Once dried and flam-béed with Cognac, the meat is seared in a combination of olive oil and butter, then simmered in the strained marinade until it falls apart at the touch of a fork. In Lombardy, the braising wine will also include garlic, as well as a dash of tomato puree to boost the color and flavor of the sauce.

Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany call their braised beef dish
stracotto.
It begins with a firm cut of round, rump, or chuck studded with garlic and simmered for six or seven hours in a terra-cotta casserole with red wine, parsley, carrots, celery, onions, and a haze of tomato puree. By the time the long-cooked beef is done, it is delectably falling apart, joining the gravy in a glorious meld. In Tuscany, in the place of potatoes or polenta, white beans cooked with bay leaves, onion, and a touch of tomato are preferred as an accompaniment.

Take heed: Resisting these aromatic braises is a tremendous feat of willpower, but the cooked meat develops maximum flavor and tenderness if it is kept in the refrigerator for twenty-four hours before being reheated and served.

Where:
In Florence
, Alla Vecchia Bettola, tel 39/055-224-158,
florence.ala.it/bettola
;
in New York
, in winter, Da Silvano, tel 212-982-2343,
dasilvano.com
.
Further information and recipes:
The Italian Country Table
by Lynne Rossetto Kasper (1999);
italianfood.about.com
(search brasato al barolo).

A side of broccoli rabe with olive oil and Parmesan.

Twenty years ago, food writers might have laughed at the idea that a vegetable as bitter as the dark green
broccoli di rapa
(broccoli rabe) would one day become the height of fashion in the U.S. Yet this is the rags-to-riches tale of this member-in-good-standing of the cabbage family, rich in iron, potassium, and antioxidants such as vitamin C. Credit its success to impeccable cooking, word of mouth and of the press, and the increasing sophistication of the American palate.

First cousin to the more common “American” broccoli, with its closely packed flowers, broccoli di rapa, which translates to the rather humble-sounding “turnip broccoli,” is a more florid bouquet, with large, lively, dark green leaves and a few tiny florets ranging from
yellow to green. Its seductive bitterness is almost always mitigated by plenty of garlic and a light coating of olive oil, and sometimes with a sprinkling of the dried hot red chile flakes called
peperoncini.

The warm, enveloping flavor of broccoli di rapa is best suited to cold weather, when the vegetable might serve as a bed for the steamed garlicky pork sausage
cotechino
or a pan-grilled pork chop. It is also served as a
minestre
, a soup in which the leaves and florets are cooked
affogato
style, meaning suffocated: The vegetable is tossed in olive oil with sliced garlic and then slowly steamed with a little water in a tightly covered pot. The result is served in a deep dish—pot liquor and all—with some coarse sourdough bread. Followed by chunks of Parmesan cheese and a ripe pear, it acts as the centerpiece of a satisfying light lunch.